OpenSky Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies. The firm's founders have experience as entrepreneurs and operators, with a track record of investing personal capital in over 80 companies.

OpenSky Ventures

OpenSky Ventures is led by experienced operators with a passion for backing exceptional founders at the earliest stages of their start up ventures in the future of commerce.

We're always on the lookout for disruptive innovations. 

That's why we made an early-stage investment in Nomadica in Q3 2022—a decision that's proving fruitful as they reshape the premium wine market.

Why Nomadica caught our eye:

➝ Innovative approach: Sommelier-quality wines in sustainable, convenient packaging
➝ Market potential: Tapping into health-conscious and eco-friendly consumer trends
➝ Impressive metrics: Up to 84% reduced carbon footprint vs. traditional bottles
➝ Scalable model: Positioned for growth in the beverage space

Nomadica's potential to capture market share and drive change in the industry is exciting. 

Their premium products, sustainability focus, and innovative packaging align perfectly with emerging consumer preferences.

We're proud to support Nomadica's journey and look forward to their continued success in redefining the wine experience.

Cheers to the future of wine! 🥂

The early-stage investing market is heating up and OpenSky is right in the thick of it. 

Here's our portfolio snapshot to-date:

➝ 15 portfolio companies (11 ecommerce infrastructure, 4 consumer)
➝ 3 follow-on investments
➝ 15 of our 18 checks have been at the pre-seed or seed stage

Deals are on the rise, and early-stage exits are largely outperforming other VC stages. As we move into Q3 and Q4 of this year we continue to seek exciting early-stage opportunities in the consumer and commerce infrastructure space that are disrupting the market and match our fund thesis.

If you're building something innovative or want to discuss the evolution of early-stage investing, drop us a DM.

What trends are you seeing in the early-stage ecosystem in '24?

Category Deep-dive: As consumer preferences evolve, a recent trend that has caught the attention investor attention is the surge in skincare and cosmetic consumer spending. 

The data shows that 26% of consumers now view this previous "nice-to-have" as an essential part of their budgets—a significant jump from just 10 years ago.

What's driving this spike in skincare obsession? 

Consumers are increasingly prioritizing self-care, wellness, and looking/feeling their absolute best. 

And it's not just a fad - the global cosmetics industry is projected to reach $463.5B by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2021. 

The global beauty industry as a whole generated $504B in revenue in 2022, with the United States leading the way at $89.7B in spending.

As investors, we have a front-row seat to the innovative founders shaking up the skincare and cosmetics space. From personalized treatments to clean beauty breakthroughs, the entrepreneurial creativity in this market is different from that of any other industry.

If you're a founder in the world of beauty/skincare, let's chat. We'd love to learn more about your vision and see how OpenSky can help accelerate your growth and success.

Intro allows anyone to receive personal career advice from leading experts in various industries. We are proud to be an early investor in their platform and look forward to the exciting growth that is yet to come. Book your expert session today!

Many founders chase top-line growth, but here's a secret most investors know: margins - not just revenue - tell the real story.

A seemingly impressive 70% gross margin can quickly shrink to a 20% contribution margin once you factor in fulfillment costs, discounts, and hidden expenses. 

This is why investors today prioritize capital-efficient brands that can achieve sustainable, profitable growth.

These are the key ingredients we look for in an omnichannel brand:

➝ Mastering Contribution Margin: This metric goes beyond gross margin by factoring in all variable costs associated with selling a product. It shows the true profit potential of your business model. Focusing on optimizing your contribution margin allows you to make informed decisions about pricing, promotions, and channel expansion.

Here’s an example:

Let's say you have a 50% gross margin on a $100 product. Sounds great, right? But after factoring in $10 for shipping, $5 for fulfillment, and $5 for potential returns, your contribution margin drops to just $30. This limited profit makes aggressive marketing campaigns or scaling efforts difficult. Optimizing your supply chain, negotiating lower shipping rates, and offering strategic discounts can all contribute to a healthier contribution margin.

➝ Demonstrating Sustainable Growth: High growth rates are exciting, but they can't come at any cost. Early-stage brands (under $10M) might aim for aggressive growth (200-300% YoY), but as you scale, the focus should shift towards efficient, profitable growth.

Here’s a breakdown: 
- $0M - $10M: 200-300% growth YoY
- $10M - $30M: 100-150% growth YoY
- $30M - $100M: 50-100% growth YoY

➝ Owning the Omnichannel Space: Successful brands don't rely on one channel alone. They establish a presence across DTC, wholesale, Amazon, and even traditional retail. This multi-channel approach provides a wider audience and maximizes sales opportunities.

Focusing solely on top-line growth can be a dangerous game. Investors seek out brands that understand their true profit potential through contribution margin and prioritize sustainable, profitable growth.

What KPIs do you consider most important for building a sustainable, scalable omnichannel brand? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The old VC mantra of "go big or go home" is broken. My take: Bigger isn't always better when it comes to funding your business. And I'm putting my money where my mouth is...

At OpenSky Ventures, we're the pre-seed investors who are focused on finding the disruptive founders building the next generation of innovative commerce startups. 

We've funded 15 companies over the last 16 months from $100k to $250k check sizes. We're operators with experience who have both successfully exited.

We don't care if you want to exit for $50m or $500m as long as our cost-basis is aligned and we have a 10x upside potential. 

We know that the startup world is constantly pushing this narrative that massive funding rounds and hyper-growth are the holy grail. 

But from our experience as pre-seed investors, excessive dilution can seriously impact your long-term ownership and potential rewards.

Let's look at the numbers.

If you raise $100 million to achieve a $500 million exit, it's likely to come with restrictions and preferences that seriously hinder your exit potential. 

Your slice of the pie ends up being much smaller than if you had taken a more targeted pre-seed round from a VC and then nailed a $100 million exit without giving up tons of equity.

This approach may sound counterintuitive (especially given the 'unicorn or bust' narrative that's been pervasive lately), but in many cases, a smaller, more focused strategy can actually lead to a more rewarding long-term outcome--for both founders and investors. 

In fact, I ran a similar playbook when scaling StackCommerce. We took a small funding round early on, then scaled from there. I call it "seed-strapping." One of our portcos, Levanata, is running a similar play (check out my post on their growth for a deep dive).

I'll leave you with this. One of my goals in getting into venture capital is to empower founders to scale their businesses while holding onto the ownership they deserve.

On that note, if you know someone who fits that description in the ecomm infrastructure or CPG space, drop me a line.

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Emile Mclean

Founder and Small and Medium-Sized Business (SMB) Consultant

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Open Sky Ventures offers consulting mentoring, funding and investment solutions to entrepreneurs and startups.

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